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The venues of the 2019 Leipzig Bach Festival

Leipzig Bach Festival 2019 takes place at 42 different venues in and around Leipzig. Here you can find information about all of them.

Burgk, Schloss

Schloss Burgk castle, picturesquely situated at the river Saale near the Bleiloch dam, was first mentioned in records in 1356; the castle as we see it today probably dates back to 1600. Once used as fortification and later as residence of the noble family of Reuss, it served only as hunting and summer residence from the end of the 17th century on. During the rule of Heinrich III (Henry III of Reuss) in the 18th century, the arts flourished at Schloss Burgk castle. The park, for example, with the Sophienhaus pavilion and the Silbermann organ at the castle chapel go back to this time. Originally, the chapel stood next to the great hall as an individual building and was included into the castle structure only in the 17th century. The early Baroque components were added to the late Gothic chapel around 1624/25. In 1742/43, Gottfried Silbermann installed a small organ on the gallery (the back wall to the small hall had to be pulled down for this purpose and was restored later). Since 1939, the organ builder company Eule is taking care of instrument maintenance. The chapel hosts services, church weddings and organ recitals with renowned artists.

One of the edifices marking the centre of the 1,050 year-old town of Eilenburg is the Protestant Church of Saint Nicholas, the oldest building there to have conserved its original outward appearance. Probably founded in the twelfth century, the church was destroyed by fire in 1435 and, starting in 1444, rebuilt in brick as a three-aisled hall church. After being partially destroyed during World War II, it was fully renovated by 1961. The church is historically significant first and foremost as the place where Martin Rinckart, the author of the chorale »Nun danket alle Gott«, worked. In 1602, Rinckart had been a pupil at St. Thomas’ School in Leipzig under Sethus Calvisius and later a prefect (choir section leader) at this school. It also has a link to Leipzig through Johann Schelle: from 1670–1677 he was cantor of St. Nicholas’ Church and from 1677–1701 Thomaskantor in the trade fair city.

In around 1518–1522, Eilenburg briefly became an important centre of the Reformation, with several visits from Martin Luther, Philipp Melanchthon and Gabriel Zwilling. A small Sauer organ is installed in the church. The last large organ by the Sauer organ-building company, dating from 1917 and featuring three manuals, a pedal and 42 stops, burned during World War II.

Address
Nicolaiplatz 3
04838 Eilenburg

Freiberg, Dom St. Marien

The four-steepled, Romanesque columned basilica »Unserer Lieben Frauen« (Church of Our Lady) was built in around 1180 in the still young locality of Freiberg, which was developing rapidly thanks to its silver resources. The cathedral of Freiberg has been a Lutheran church since 1537. Pope Sixtus IV elevated the previous, Romanesque church to the rank of cathedral in 1480; the name of St. Mary’s has remained.

The cathedral is world-famous for its portal, called the Golden Gate, its two Silbermann organs, the »Bergmannskanzel« (miner’s pulpit) and »Tulpenkanzel« (tulip pulpit), and the burial chapel of the electors of Saxony, to name just a few examples. Moreover, it is one of the most tradition-steeped centres of sacred music in Saxony and Germany as a whole.

The musical instruments from the burial chapel of Freiberg Cathedral

On the top ledge of the epitaph architecture, 12 metres up, the transition from wall to ceiling is marked by a number of instrument-playing angels. During renovation work, inspections showed that these 30 »built-in« instruments must have been playable 400 years ago or, at least, that they were meant to be played. Their original condition, nearly unchanged until today, makes them a unique sixteenth-century ensemble. The finds have been examined and some of them reconstructed by the Museum for Musical Instruments of the University of Leipzig. In the course of this project, the »Chordae Freybergensis« ensemble was founded to perform on the rebuilt instruments in concerts and for CD recordings.

Silbermann organs

The larger organ is one of the biggest works of Gottfried Silbermann (1683–1753). He built the instrument, with its three manuals, 44 stops and 2,574 pipes, between 1711 and 1714. On the opposite side of the building, there is a second, smaller Silbermann organ, which is just as impressive as its big sister.

Köthen Castle is a building complex in the centre of the town of Köthen (Anhalt) which from 1244 to 1847 served as the ducal residence. From 1603, it was the residence of the Anhalt-Köthen line of the Ascanian dynasty.

Today, the buildings are used for musical, historical, modern and cultural purposes. They house the town museums, the town’s archive and the music school, as well as a modern centre for cultural events and conferences. The castle chapel holds the organ built by the Dessau organ-builder, Johann Christoph Zuberbier in 1754/55.

The first floor of the »Ludwigsbau« (»Ludwig Building«) houses the Bach memorial, a reminder of his time as court kapellmeister of Prince Leopold, from 1717 to 1723. This is where he wrote the six Brandenburg Concertos and parts of the Well-Tempered Clavier, for example, as well as several violin concertos and the French and English Suites.

The Ludwigsbau also houses the former throne room (hall of mirrors) renovated in 1822 by Christian Gottfried Bandhauer, which today regularly serves as a concert hall.

The Old Stock Exchange (Alte Börse) on Naschmarkt is Leipzig’s oldest baroque building. It was constructed by Leipzig merchants in 1678 and was used as a prestigious place of assembly for 200 years. Transactions were concluded, auctions were held and bills of exchange were traded here. One striking feature is its symmetrical design. The centrepiece of its splendidly decorated façade is the coat of arms of the City of Leipzig.

During World War II, the Old Stock Exchange was damaged and lost its stucco ceiling. After the war it was rebuilt. Today the Old Stock Exchange is used for concerts, readings, theatre performances, lectures and conferences as well as private and public functions.

The Bose House in St. Thomas Square, Leipzig, used to be the residence of the Bose family, affluent merchants and close friends of the Bachs. Today the building houses the Bach Museum Leipzig. In its twelve thematically structured exhibition rooms the museum gives a detailed account (both in German and English) of the life and works of Johann Sebastian Bach. The permanent exhibition conveys a vivid impression of his music, provides insights into the methods and various fields of Bach research, and displays original Bach manuscripts and other precious items. Interactive features play a significant role: visitors may become actively involved in many facets of the exhibition.

Among the most interesting exhibits is an organ console at which Bach himself played in the year 1743, a double bass that was part of his orchestra, and an iron chest – the only surviving piece of furniture from Bach’s household. A special highlight of the museum is the treasure chamber, in which original Bach manuscripts are on display.

Special exhibitions, concerts, and a great variety of pedagogical activities complement the museum’s program. A little pleasure garden, the baroque courtyard, and a museum shop invite visitors to relax and explore.

In 2002, the Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) moved into the building of what was formerly the supreme court of the German Reich at the Simsonplatz. Its construction lasted from 1888 to 1895 and evokes Italian late Renaissance as well as French Baroque styles. It resembles the Berlin Reichstag building which originated in the same period. With regard to both form and function, the interior models itself on its initially intended function as a supreme court. The sculptures and lavish murals found in this building reflect issues such as criminal investigation, judgment, execution and mercy. The interior of the Grand Courtroom is decorated in a particularly magnificent style with allegories and the courts of arms of all of the federal states of that time emblazoned across its walls. Accommodating the supreme court of the German Reich, the building served its initial purpose from 1895 to 1945.

It was heavily damaged during Second World War before it was rehabilitated and became the new home of the Museum of Fine arts (Museum der bildenden Künste) in 1952. It underwent a major rehabilitation from 1998 to 2001.

The Evangelical-reformed Church (Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche) was built in 1896–1899 to the plans of the Leipzig master builder Georg Weidenbach and his associate Richard Tschammer. It was the first historicist religious building in Leipzig to be influenced by the architecture of the Renaissance. On 4 December 1943, it was badly damaged by incendiary bombs. Reconstruction began immediately to a simplified interior design, corresponding to the basic Weidenbach type. With the communion table, pulpit and organ, with which the seating is aligned, arranged one above the other, the interior complies with requirements laid down by the so-called Wiesbaden Programme of 1891 for the design of Evangelical churches. The church obtained a Jehmlich organ in 1968. The last interior and exterior renovations were carried out in 1992–1996, with the result that the church now re-exerts its old influence from its dominant position on the northern city ring.

forum thomanum is an international education campus based on 800 years of musical tradition at St. Thomas’. »Faith, singing, learning« and cultural exchange are the focus of the teaching in the campus institutions. These comprise St. Thomas’ School, the boarding school of the Thomanerchor choristers, the kindergarten, the primary school and the church, the Lutherkirche. It is planned to create a middle school and a »musicaccademia«. The education campus will one day offer an education to more than 1,200 children and young people aimed at developing musical and linguistic skills and embedded in the Christian system of values, ensuring that many people of all ages are able to benefit from the rich musical tradition at St. Thomas’.

The Gewandhaus Orchestra owes its name to the place where it first performed, the hall opened in 1781 above the cloth store of the building of the clothmakers’ guild (Gewandhaus) in the historic Neumarkt. Just over a century later, on 11 December 1884, the New Gewandhaus, designed by the architects Martin Gropius and Heinrich Schmieden was officially opened in the »music quarter« of the city, opposite the University Library, earning praise for its outstanding acoustic qualities and the visual appeal of its inspired architecture. On 20 February 1944, it was badly damaged in an air raid and never rebuilt; the burned-out, shored up ruins were eventually demolished in 1968. For 35 years, the Conference Hall at the Zoo served as the base for the Gewandhaus Orchestra until, on 8 October 1981, the (second) New Gewandhaus was inaugurated on Karl-Marx-Platz (now renamed Augustusplatz) after a construction period of four years. In addition to the large hall with seating for almost 2000, the building has a smaller hall seating around 500 which, following renovations at the end of 1997, was named the Mendelssohn Hall.

The Grassimuseum is situated close to the city centre of Leipzig at the Johannisplatz (John’s Square). The museum was named after a wealthy Leipzig merchant whose inheritance made the construction of several buildings in Leipzig possible. The museum complex is not only home to the Museum für Völkerkunde (Museum of Ethnography) and the Museum für Musikinstrumente (Museum for musical instruments) but also to the Museum für Angewandte Kunst (Museum of Applied Arts). At the end of 2007, after extensive renovations, it reopened its doors with the first of altogether three new permanent exhibitions. Entitled »From Antiquity to Historicism«, this first exhibition, which covers 30 rooms, features the oldest holdings of the collection and takes visitors on a journey through 2,500 years of art history. At the end of January 2010, also the second exhibition, entitled »Asian Art. Impulses for Europe«, opened its doors; the third, »From Art Nouveau to the Present Day«, opened in March, 2012. Other attractions of the museum include changing special exhibitions and the GRASSI FAIR hosted every year on the last weekend of October.

The Grassimuseum is situated close to the city centre Leipzig at the John’s square (Johannisplatz). It was named after a wealthy Leipziger merchant whose inheritance made the construction of several buildings in Leipzig possible. The museum complex is not only home to the Museum of Applied Arts and the Museum of Ethnography but also to one of the largest collections of musical instruments in the world.&nbsp;The history of this collection traces back to the work of the Dutchman Paul de Wit (1852–1925) who lived in Leipzig. He opened in 1886 a museum at the Thomaskirchhof 16, today home to the Bach Museum, where he exhibited historical musical instruments and also played them from time to time. In 1905 the collection was sold to paper maker Wilhelm Heyer from Cologne. After his death the collection became with the help of a great donation by music publisher Henri Hinrichsen part of the possession of the Leipzig University and was brought to the north wing of the then newly built GRASSI Museum where the exhibition was ceremoniously opened on May 30th in 1929.

The Second World War caused severe damages to the collection and a considerable number of exhibits as well as the archive and the library became victims of a fire after a bomb raid in December 1943. The evacuated holdings were only partly brought back in good condition as theft and improper storage caused further losses. In the beginning of the 1950s the museum could be reconstructed and step by step be open again for the public. With specifically buying and several donations the museum’s holding was enlarged in the meantime and is today one of the largest in Germany.&nbsp;After a fundamental restoration the museum was reopened in 2006 and is shining now in new splendour. The museum’s »Zimelien Hall« is a room that fits perfectly for chamber concerts and lectures.

Leipzig House has been a venue for concerts, balls and theatre and cabaret performances since 1946. Opened originally as a bowling alley in 1930, it was severely damaged by air strikes during World War II. In 1946, the Soviet company Intourist GmbH took over the house and converted it into a hotel called Haus Antifa. The former bowling hall was transformed into a dance floor, with capacity for 600 people. In 1953, the hotel became state property and was renamed Haus Leipzig – Leipzig House. From 1961 to 1989, the building housed the »Arthur Becker Central Club of Youth and Athletes«. After various uses following the fall of the Berlin Wall, the renovated Leipzig House opened again in 2014 for events for up to 1,400 people.

You can spot the gleaming Rochlitz porphyry from quite some distance: the new Provost Church deliberately chose for its modern façade an especially tradition-steeped building material that for centuries was widely used in Saxony and Leipzig. Together with the New Town Hall tower, the church tower – which is separated from the church proper in the manner of an Italian campanile – forms a »gateway« into Leipzig’s city centre.

With the construction of Leipzig's third Provost Church, the Catholic Provost congregation has been able to move back into the city centre after 71 years. The winning design by Schulz & Schulz Architekten GmbH gained the judges’ favour with its numerous references to the city of Leipzig. For example, the undercut on the ground floor is inspired by the motif of the Leipzig shopping arcades and provides unobstructed passage from the city centre to the central courtyard.

Although not outwardly visible, the concept of sustainability is nevertheless effectively at work in that the church uses geothermal energy for heating in the winter, and this is returned to the earth in the summer for cooling purposes. In addition, photovoltaic panels are installed on the church roof and church tower to generate electricity from solar energy. The church tower houses a rainwater tank and the collected rainwater is used for the operation of the church, and for the waterfall.

The architectural ambitions are continued in the art, which forms an integral part of the structure. This is evident at three outstanding locations in the church interior: in the liturgical areas, in the church windows and at the Vleugel organ.

Since its opening in 1900, the splendid building, which dates back to the Gründerzeit period in the second half of the 19th century (sometimes called the period of Promoterism) has known a chequered history. The façade, restored to its original design, is now a tangible reminder of the time when the exclusive »Assembly House and Social Centre next to the Zoo« was first founded. It is a building that has played an important role in the cultural life of the City of Leipzig from the very beginning. At that time, buildings were constructed in the grand manner – to which the high vaulted ceiling of the Großer Saal still bears witness even today.
Ever since it was built, the Kongresshalle has been the subject of continual restructuring and extension – some of it radical. For much of the time, it was the art nouveau and Art Deco features that dominated the building’s image: the ceiling in the foyer, for instance, was considered as one of the most important examples of art deco in Leipzig. In 1946 the building, which had survived the war with little damage, was modified and became the »Kongreßhalle Leipzig«. The Großer Saal, too, underwent the numerous changes that were required by the various uses to which it was put. Right up until the late 1980s, the venue was the cultural heart of the city as the Gewandhaus Orchestra played here before the new concert hall – the only new one built during the GDR – was opened in 1981.
Thereafter, because of a lack of funds, it fell into significant disrepair. In 2009, the City of Leipzig took the decision to reinvent the building as a modern congress centre. The extensive building works were completed in 2016. Since then, the Kongresshalle is being used as a venue for meetings, congresses and events.

The Kupfersaal (»Copper Hall«) is part of the former Dresdner Hof trade fair complex and was built in 1912/13 by the architect Alfred Stentzler. The hall is centrally located between Market Square and the University of Leipzig campus on the eponymous narrow street of Kupfergasse.

On opening, the hall served as a restaurant and concert venue and was known under the name of »Naumann-Bräu«. Later, it was used mainly as a student canteen and by the Free German Youth (FDJ) club, »Kalinin«. It served temporarily as an interim venue, known as the »Lampenladen«, or »lamp store«, for the cabaret Academixer.
After some alteration work, the Kupfersaal was reopened on 9 September 2017 and today serves as a venue for the two associations Livelyrix and the Leipzig Philharmonic. Its varied programme ranges from classical music to live literature sessions and readings right through to comedy and poetry slams. The Kupfersaal has capacity for 560 people.

Since 2005, culinary school LukullusT follows its vision – to get its guest to the stove. Nearly any means is used: fresh and high-quality ingredients, regional products and international specialities, passion and attention to detail. Guest experience all this in cooking classes, family parties and events. The culinary journey starts here – in a place where pleasure in food is valued more than nearly anywhere else in Leipzig. Enjoyment and delightful conversations are included as well.

The Luther Church (Lutherkirche) was built in the territory of the Johannapark in neo-Gothic style between 1883 and 1886; its tower has a height of 58 meters. When Julius Zeißig designed the building, he was only 28 years of age. The church survived Second World War bombardments without damages. The organ was completed in 1886 as well by the Borna organ builder Richard Kreutzbach, yet it was damaged just two years later by fire. It underwent a restoration in Saalfeld before it was newly dedicated in August 2000. In 2002, the parish of the Lutherkirche was merged with the Thomaskirche parish which, on its turn, represented a merger of the former two parishes of St. Thomas and St. Matthäi; today, the Lutherkirche is used only casually for church services. It became integrated into the concept of the »forum thomanum« as a place of worship, school auditorium, concert hall, theatre and recording studio.

The Leipzig market square (Markt Leipzig) is located in the city centre. The city coat of arms is embedded into the mosaic pavement at the centre of the 10.000m² square. The eastern length is framed by the arcades of the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall, 1556), the oldest still existing building on the square. Some of the historic buildings on the north side were rebuilt after World War II, for example the Alte Waage (Old Weigh House). The southern length is framed by historic buildings such as Königshaus (Kings’ House) as well as new and altered buildings, which imitate historic silhouettes.Early on, the market square was the centre of public life, a great share of the goods handled during the fairs were traded here. Before 1500, the market square was also the scene for knights festivals while at the same time being the place of public executions and political demonstrations.Nowadays, city festivals, markets, and fairs take place on the market square, also of course the Leipziger Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas fair), one of the most traditional of its kind in Germany.

The Mendelssohn-Haus (Mendelssohn House) in Leipzig has been preserved as the last and sole private residence of the composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. It is of great historical and cultural importance. Built in 1844, in the style of Late Classicism, the house is an important witness of its time and it preserves much of the original building and information about its most prominent inhabitant who lived with his family on the 1st floor from 1845 on and died here on November 4 in 1847. Today, Mendelssohn’s flat is a museum in honour of this brilliant German composer, virtuoso and conductor who was also a very good painter and active in the field of cultural and educational policy. The visitor can experience this flat as an authentic place where many progressive ideas for the European musical life and the world of thought came from.

The Michaeliskirche (St. Michael’s Church), along with Peterskirche (St. Peter’s Church) and Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall), forms part of the main north-south axis running through the city centre. The church with its marble alter is therefore not set up to face east, like usual, but instead faces north. It was built between 1901 and 1904 as a successful synthesis of Art Nouveau and German Renaissance elements, the monumental facade with its 72-meter high steeple bearing witness to the prosperity and self-confidence of Leipzig’s bourgeoisie at the turn of the century. The interior is marked by noteworthy wood carvings on the galleries, pews and pulpit, colourful choir windows, and the original, three-manual Sauer organ with 46 stops and an ornately carved Art Nouveau front.

The »Johann Sebastian Bach« School of Music is the second-largest music school in Germany after Hamburg. Offering a large choice of courses in dance and music – on nearly every instrument and in every musical style – it fosters individual musical, dance, artistic and creative skills in children, teenagers and adults. The forerunner of today’s music school was the Volksmusikschule (»People’s Music School«), founded in 1951, and in 1960, with the addition of dance and art, renamed Volkskunsthochschule (»People’s Art University«). In 1985, it was named after Johann Sebastian Bach and since then has maintained an internationally successful youth symphony orchestra. Later, a big band and a brass band were created there. The music school is a public institution run by the City of Leipzig and has partnerships with educational establishments and cultural institutions such as the Leipzig Gewandhaus.

The New Town Hall – the City of Leipzig's administrative headquarters since 1905 – is one of the most important town hall buildings in Germany. It was built from 1899-1905 in the Historicism style to plans by Hugo Licht, partly on the site of the mediaeval castle, the Pleissenburg. The most characteristic features of this monumental building in white limestone are its artistic interior design and the rich ornamentation of its façade. Particularly noteworthy are its opulently decorated main staircase and the historic council hall, both of which have been conserved virtually in their original state. The Lower and Upper Foyer, where exhibitions are often shown today, give an impression of vastness. The 114.7 metre-high town hall tower stands on the foundations of the old Pleissenburg tower. From there, an impressive view of the city is to be had.

One of the oldest churches in Leipzig, the Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas’ Church) has always been closely connected with the city’s history and the lives of its inhabitants. It may be this special connection which the citizens feel they have with their city and parish church that has engendered the persistent changes the church’s exterior and interior went through. Whatever shape St. Nicholas’ Church took as it was developing from the original Romanesque basilica with its massive twin tower assembly to a Gothic hall church which became extended by another tower before it underwent a classicistic re-design of the interior: the church has always reflected the self-understanding of the citizens.

When it comes to musical activities, St. Nicholas’ Church has always been affiliated to its neighbouring church St. Thomas’ Church (Thomaskirche) from time immemorial. While St. Nicholas’ Church is regarded as Leipzig’s main parish church, it never employed an own choirmaster and organist. Instead, it was the choirmaster of the Thomasschule – and, during his Leipzig period between 1723 and 1750, Johann Sebastian Bach, too – who was responsible for the church music performed in the two main churches St. Nicholas und St. Thomas, as well as in the New St. Matthew’s Church (Neue Kirche St. Matthäi) and St. Peter’s Church (Peterskirche).

The city’s history of opera is one of the oldest in Europe. The first opera run in Leipzig – and, after Venedig and Hamburg, the third public opera house existing worldwide – was established in 1693. Throughout the three centuries that followed, this opera saw a large number of first performances and premières closely connected with the work of famous composers and conductors. Leipzig’s first building fitting the needs of an opera was erected in 1766; after its reconstruction in 1817, it became the city’s first dedicated theatre. Since 1840, the Gewandhaus Orchestra has played all performances given in the opera, ensuring to this day a level of musical performance that is second to none. The Neues Theater (new theatre) opened on the Augustusplatz in 1868. Its focus is on the regular performance of the works of Richard Wagner. Famous conductors until 1890 were Artur Seidl, Arthur Nikisch and Gustav Mahler. This bulding was destroyed during the war in 1943. In 1960 the Neue Leipziger Opernhaus on the Augustusplatz was opened – the only new opera building in the GDR.

In what today is Connewitz’s busy centre there has stood, for nearly 500 hundred years, a stone column with an image of Christ on the side facing the city of Leipzig. The »Connewitz Cross« was once located just a stone’s throw from the old village of Connewitz and only gradually »shifted« to the centre of the hamlet as it spread northwards. In immediate proximity to it is Paul Gerhardt Church. Designed by architect Julius Zeissig, its architecture is based on German Renaissance forms. The groundbreaking took place on April 4, 1898, and two years later, on April 1, 1900, it was consecrated.

Standing on an artificially elevated plot, the church is oriented East-West. The defining characteristic of the exterior of this hall church is the charming contrast between the architectural elements in reddish Rochlitz porphyr and the light-coloured, painted walls. The 60m-high tower stands at the eastern end, with the main portal in a narrow porch.

The Paulinerkirche was a church on the Augustusplatz in Leipzig, named after the »Pauliner«, its original Dominican friars. It was built in 1231 as the Klosterkirche St. Pauli for the Dominican monastery in Leipzig. From the foundation of the University of Leipzig in 1409, it served as the university church. After the Protestant Reformation it was donated to the university and was inaugurated in 1545 by Martin Luther as the Universitätskirche St. Pauli (University Church of St Paul), later also called Unikirche. Johann Sebastian Bach was director of music for »festal« (holiday) services in 1723−25.
The church survived the war practically unscathed but was dynamited in 1968 during the communist regime of East Germany. After the reunification of Germany, it was decided to build a new university church on the site in the shape of the former church. A new building, the Paulinum (formally: »Aula und Universitätskirche St. Pauli«, i. e. »Assembly Hall and University Church St. Paul«), was built on the site according to plans by architekt Erik van Egeraat.

The Peterskirche (St. Peter’s Church), built 1882–1885,&nbsp;represents an outstanding neo-Gothic structure in Saxony, and one of the most excellent symbols of the historicism found throughout the German-speaking area. In terms of enclosed space, it is Leipzig’s biggest church with the tallest tower found in the city (88 meters) that dominates the skyline of the southern suburb of Leipzig. A hall church, the Peterskirche follows German tradition, but it also refers to the Gothic style typical in French cathedrals. Its exterior and interior design, structural completion and the role it plays within the urbanistic picture turn it intoit a complex artwork of outstanding importance.

After the German Reunification, the Deutsche Bahn AG (German national railway company) resolved to maintain the striking façade of the Leipzig main station, the largest terminal train station in Europe, and to renovate the building so that it would serve as a point of public interest even beyond the city bounds. A group of private investors from the Deutsche Bank AG and the ECE Group refurbished it, following standards for the renovation of historical buildings while adding some modern elements. Since then, the imposing 300 meter-wide entrance hall has shone in renewed brilliance. The basement and ground levels of the entrance hall, as well as the 250 meter platform were made into a shopping and service center on three floors with direct access to the Leipzig pedestrian Nikolaistrasse area. In only two years, 1.6 million cubic meters of space have been renovated, at a total cost of 250 million Euros.

The Promenades have received numerous national and international awards for representing an exemplary pilot project for the revitalization of historic main stations. Following the renovation of the Promenades, which were first opened in 1997, the shopping quarter in the Leipzig city center was expanded by 30,000 square meters housing nearly 140 businesses. Each day, the Promenades are used by 70,000 people from all over Germany.

The Hôtel de Pologne is located in the heart of Leipzig's city center. Into the 19th century, three buildings stood on the spot, including the hotels »Zum Goldenen Adler« (»The Golden Eagle«) and »Zum Birnbaum« (»The Pear Tree«), where Martin Luther stayed in 1519. In 1819, C. A. Pausch purchased all of the buildings. To commemorate a visit by the king of Poland Stanisław I. Leszcyński, Pausch named his new property »Hôtel de Pologne«. In 1846, the buildings were destroyed in a fire. One year later, the construction of the new building began which would become the largest hotel in Leipzig at the time, with 130 rooms on five floors, a courtyard, and an impressive outdoor marble staircase, started . In 1892 and 1893, the famous Leipzig architect Arwed Roßbach was commissioned to carve an elaborate Florentine Renaissance style relief for the façade. The hotel was used both as a place in which to spent the night and as a location for festivities and balls, which were held in the large (250 square meters), festive Baroque Revival ballroom. This room was completed in 1893 following a design by Ludwig Heim, and had space for 1,500 guests. During World War One, the building was converted into a hospital, and in 1917 all hotel business was abandoned. Only the ballroom remained open to the public, where festivities and culinary events were still hosted. In the years that followed, during the Weimar Republic, the building was used as a convention center, and from the early 1950s until after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it housed the offices of the Leipzig department of conventions and fairs, which converted the ballroom into a blue-tiled industrial kitchen. In 2008, the Leipzig development company Stadtbau A.G. carried out an exhaustive historic renovation and restoration of the building in order to recreate the its interior and exterior as they had been in 1893. Since 2010, the Grand Ballroom, the Green Room, and the Lodge Hall, as well as two foyers and other smaller rooms have been available for use as event space.

The restaurant and »society hall« (Gesellschaftshalle) as it was known, was built between 1874 and 1876. Plain on the outside, the building concealed a magnificent ballroom with a gallery running all the way round, supported by decorated pillars, and an orchestra shell. The building was extended around the turn of the century and decorated with a Wilhelminian, art nouveau-inspired façade with a terrace and staircase. Films were shown here regularly from 1913. The cinema on Karl Heine Street became a state-owned operation in 1949 and was named »Lichtspieltheater Lindenfels«. It was renovated in 1956 and remained in operation until the boiler broke down in the winter of 1987. After that, the heating system was shut down and the cinema closed.
Since 1994, Schaubühne Lindenfels has been a Leipzig production and performance venue with an interdisciplinary concept. Its programme features primarily theatre, dance, performance and film, but also music, literature, the new media and the visual arts. Besides its own productions, co-productions with local artists and visiting productions by international theatre companies, the theatre also carries out public art projects and is a focal point for the development of Leipzig West as a culturally active district.

The Schumann-Haus (Schumann House) is located in a wonderful, classicistic&nbsp;building. Robert and Clara Schumann moved into one of its apartments after their wedding in September 1840. Today, the bel étage, where the famous couple lived during the first four years of their marriage, accommodates a museum. The other rooms of the building are used by the Clara Schumann school, a private elementary school.In the house in Leipzig’s Inselstraße, Robert Schumann composed the »Spring Symphony«, which established his fame as a world-renowned composer. He also wrote numerous articles for »Neue Zeitschrift für Musik«, a music journal he had founded in 1834. Sharing a life with her husband, Clara Schumann, who had already made a name for herself as a pianist performing under her maiden name Clara Wieck, was inspired to develop new thematic interests and perfect her art. Also during this period, the couple’s two daughters, Marie and Elise, were born in the Inselstraße house.The Schumann-Saal, where today numerous concerts are held, is restored to its original beauty. Here the Schumanns welcomed many famous composers and intellectuals of their time, among them Franz Liszt, Felix Mendelsohn Bartholdy, Richard Wagner, Hector Berlioz, and Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish fairytale writer.

When the municipal bath house opened in 1916 after three years’ construction work, it offered exciting attractions, relaxation and wellness. At that time, men and women indulged in the delights of bathing in separate halls. The largest pool was reserved for the men: it measured 32x12 metres, had a three metre-high springboard and was even equipped with a wave machine (the first indoor swimming pool in Europe to have one) that generated waves of up to one metre. Medical therapy facilities were available, such as tub and steam baths, and two separate sauna areas. The centrepiece of the bath house was the ladies’ sauna in the Moorish style, today a listed monument.
Despite extensive renovation in the 1980s which restored the oriental-style ladies’ sauna to its former glory, the building fell into increasing disrepair in later years. In 2004, the facility had to be closed because of its poor structural condition.
To prevent further dilapidation, in 2006 the Leipzig municipal water supply company created a foundation which is working to renovate the bath house and give it a new lease of life. For the moment the former men’s bathing hall, mainly, serves to host events.

Back in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, large quantities of books were donated to Leipzig’s city council resulting in the creation of a library that the burghers of Leipzig were also entitled to use. In 1677, the lawyer Huldreich Gross bequeathed his entire fortune and some 4,000 books to Leipzig city council with instructions to set up a library »for use by the young students of the city«. This »Bibliotheca senatus lipsiensis« (Leipzig Senate Library) opened in 1683 on Universitätsstrasse; a permanent librarian was employed from 1711 onwards and regular opening times were introduced.
Between then and the twentieth century, the library moved numerous times. It suffered huge losses in the bombing raid of 1943, when nearly 200,000 books were burned. After reconstruction and subsequent renaming from “City Library” to “People’s Library”, it was housed in temporary quarters in Barthels Hof until 1984. Only in 1991, after a long search for a new site, was it reopened in the Old Grassi Museum on Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz. This building was constructed in 1894–97 by the Leipzig city planner Hugo Licht and served as a museum until 1927, then as a trade fair building, and until 1990 as the headquarters of the chemical plant and mechanical engineering conglomerate, Chemieanlagenbau- und Montagekombinat Leipzig.
The building underwent complete renovation from 2009–2012 to make it suitable for use as a modern library. Today, with around 1,800 visitors every day of opening, the City Library is a central hub for people of all generations.

The discovery of silver in the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) at the end of the 15th century brought great economic prosperity to Leipzig. The city’s churches were renovated and expanded over the next 40 years as a result. The Romanesque nave of the previous Thomaskirche (St. Thomas' Church), whose foundations probably dated back to 1160, was hence demolished in 1482 and a new Late Gothic hall church was erected, which was consecrated in 1496 and still stands today. With the exception of the steeple, which took on its final form in 1702, nothing of the St. Thomas Church’s architecture has changed since then.

The most severe alterations to the interior decoration of the church resulted from the renovations of 1884–89, during which the entire Baroque-era decor, from the period when Johann Sebastian Bach was active at St. Thomas' Church, was removed. Since then the interior of the church has been neo-Gothic in style. The first thorough restoration of St. Thomas Church in over 100 years was made possible following the reunification of the two German states. This was largely completed by the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death on July 28, 2000. The construction of the new Bach organ was also part of this project.

The exhibitions and events at the Zeitgeschichtliches Forum Leipzig (Forum of Contemporary History) are an attraction for visitors from the region and beyond. The Forum belongs to the House of History Foundation in Bonn hosting a permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of the separation and reunification of Germany and to dictatorship and resistance in former Eastern Germany. About 3,200 objects and various audio-visual presentations are on display on 2,000 square metres of floor space. With temporary exhibitions and a number of other events, the house is a lively forum of dealing with the past and the present.

The information centre provides more details on the different exhibitions. It offers a reference and media library with a wide selection of books, newspapers, magazines and audio-visual material.

The Zoo Leipzig was founded in 1878 by a restaurateur, it today looks back upon one of the longest traditions throughout Germany. Ernst Pinkert’s initial intention was to exhibit exotic animals to attract visitors, and he was very successful with this. But the core business was to fade into the background soon, and it took just 20 years for the private zoo to become a public company.
140 years after its foundation, the »Zoo der Zukunft« (»zoo pointing to the future«) keeps up with the most recent developments. Since 1999, it has undergone a complete reconstruction producing more and more adventure worlds offering natural environments to rare. In 2011, the giant tropical hall »Gondwana-Land« opened, in 2016 »Kiwara-Kopje« and in 2017 the high-mountain landscape »Himalaya«, and in 2018 a »South America« world.

The city Naumburg on the Saale River was chosen around 1000 as the new family home by Ekkehard I, margrave of Meißen, as it is situated conveniently at the junction of several trade routes. Already in 1028 Naumburg became bishop’s see. The first cathedral, a previous building to today’s cathedral, was consecrated in 1042. Exactly 200 years later the late Romanesque new building of the nave was completed which can still be seen today. The east and west choir were rebuilt in Gothic style in the 13th and 14th century. The cathedral was further reconstructed and restored until the 19th century. Especially the towers of the cathedral are witnesses of the different stylistic periods. Due to its Romanesque-Gothic architecture and especially because of its early Gothic monumental sculpture and construction ornamentation the Naumburg cathedral is one of the most important cultural monuments of medieval times. The life-sized statues of the donators in the west choir that were created in the 13th century by an unknown so-called »Naumburg master« as well as the image of the Passion of Christ at the Western chancel screen impress by their realistic creation. The late Romanesque crypt, the eastern chancel screen and the medieval stained windows are significant examples concerning architecture and culture history.&nbsp;The organ of the Naumburg cathedral was built by the organ builder Eule in 1983.

Rising majestically on the south side of the market square, the St. Wenceslas Parish Church (Stadtpfarrkirche St. Wenzel) is a landmark of the city of Naumburg. The oldest documentary evidence of the church goes back to 1228, its incorporation into the cathedral chapter occurring only fifty years later. In 1411 it was struck for the first time by one of the many fires in the city and had to be rebuilt. Further conflagrations and rebuilding followed. The three-story altar wall with diagonally placed sides was built by the court sculptor of Zeitz, Heinrich Schau, between 1677 and 1680. The altarpiece was begun in 1683 by Dresden painter Johann Oswald Harms. The complete remodelling of the church in Baroque style followed in 1724, at which time the vaulted ceiling was also put into place.A new organ was built by Gottfried Silbermann’s pupil Zacharias Hildebrandt between 1743 and 1746, being installed in the Baroque organ case built from 1695 to 1697 by sculptor Johannn Göricke. On September 27, 1746 the organ was tested by Johann Sebastian Bach, cantor of Leipzig’s St. Thomas Church, and organ-builder Gottfried Silbermann. The instrument was restored and expanded several times. During the latest repair phase from 1993, the organ was restored to its original state from 1746.Also worth mentioning is the costly interior decoration, such as two paintings from the workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder (»Let the children come to Me« and »The adoration of the Magicians«) and the tombstone of August von Leubelfing, page of the Swedish king Gustav Adolf.

The late Romanesque Wehrkirche Pomßen church from the 13th century is rather impressive because of the classical structure of westwork, nave, choir and semicircular apse. A stair tower leads to the patron’s bay of the noble family von Ponickau that ruled here for over 250 years, laying the foundations for one of the largest manors in western Saxony. The two-storey gallery, the large epitaphs, the coats of armour and the lordly vault remind of the family, which is also depicted in the middle part of the three-story Renaissance altar. The nave is covered by a Baroque coffered ceiling with 73 painted panels. Further valuable elements, like the Romanesque baptismal font and the late Gothic crucifix, complete the rich interior decoration. The original organ was destroyed when the tower collapsed in 1661. A new instrument was built by the organ builder Gottfried Richter from Döbeln in 1671. It remains in original condition until today and is therefore considered to be the oldest playable pipe organ in Saxony.

On the foundations of the former Weissenfels fortress, the residence of the dukes of Weissenfels – Neu-Augustusburg – was built between 1660 and 1694 in the form of a monumental, three-winged edifice. The castle served until 1746 as the residence of the Saxe-Weissenfels branch of the electors of Saxony and rapidly developed into a cultural centre, attracting important artists such as Johann Beer, Johann Philipp Krieger, Georg Philipp Telemann and Friederike Caroline Neuber. It was here, too, that the talent of Georg Frideric Handel was discovered.

In the north wing of the castle is the impressive and well-conserved castle chapel of St. Trinitatis, one of the most beautiful early Baroque churches in Central Germany. With frescoes and magnificent stucco ornamentation by Italian masters as well as a Förner organ, the church holds one further treasure in its basement: the ducal crypt with splendidly decorated tin and wooden sarcophagi of the dukes of Saxe-Weissenfels.

The castle chapel at Weissenfels is similar that of Weimar, which was called »Weg zur Himmelsburg« – »Way to the Fortress of Heaven«. This name is a reference to the extraordinary architecture of the edifice: the tiny church rose up through three storeys to a height of nearly 30 metres and was crowned by a dome painted with a sky of clouds. The organist and musicians were placed on the uppermost gallery, their music seeming to come down from heaven to the pews beneath.

Johann Sebastian Bach composed his Toccata and Fugue in F, BWV 540, for the organ of the castle chapel at Weissenfels.

Zitzschen is a district of the town of Zwenkau, part of the Leipzig administrative region. The first foundation stone for the church was laid in 1792. The plans were drawn up by the Dresden architect, Christian Friedrich Schuricht. The organ was built by the workshop of the Trampeli brothers of Adorf in the Vogtland region. The church, measuring some 30 metres long and 12 metres wide, with two galleries, was consecrated on 1 November 1796.

In 1832, the tower required restoration work due to weather-related damage, and the Baroque dome received the slate roofing typical of Zitzschen. On the occasion of its centenary in 1894, the church was extensively renovated, getting new oak choirstalls and heating, and splendid paintwork by the artist Zander-Holle, whose paintings include the triumphant Christ on the ceiling.

It was restored to this condition during the renovation work of 2007 to 2011, the organ having already been restored between 1990 and 1994. This is one of the biggest and largely authentically preserved instruments by the Trampeli brothers.

Address
Kirchstraße
04442 Zwenkau
Ortsteil Zitzschen

Zschortau, Kirche St. Nicolai

The St. Nicholas church (Kirche St. Nikolai) was built in the 12th or 13th century, the late Romanesque style can still be seen today especially on the tower. Around 1500 the church was reconstructed, the nave was raised and extended and big Gothic windows were installed. An unusually long sanctuary was created. From the attic of the nave one can still today see the shape of the old gable at the Eastern side of the tower.St. Nicholas is home to four-winged altar that is part of the most beautiful evidence of late Gothic art in the area around Leipzig and Delitzsch and which is worth seeing. It was created around 1517 by an unknown master.The organ that is dated 1742 is the last preserved instrument of organ builder Johannes Scheibe who was probably from Zschortau. Romanticising reconstructions from the 19th century were removed in the 1990s so that the organ can now be seen and heard in its original Baroque state. In 1746 Johann Sebastian Bach wrote an expert report which says that everything was built »efficiently, diligently and well«. The original of this report is today in the British Museum in London.